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iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: Speedy
Date: March 25, 2012 03:02AM
My daughter dropped her iPhone 4 in the toilet. Predictably it is dead. We are drying it out but it was in use when it hit the water.

It is an AT&T model. What is the cheapest way to replace it? Looks to be around $300 for a used one on eBay.

I assume once I find an AT&T refurb or used that it is simply a matter of swapping the SIM card and then connecting to iTunes to reload her stuff and she is good to go? Or do I have to do something with AT&T?

The iPhone was new in 11/10 so it is almost a year and a half old and our contract is up in 11/12. We have three other iPhones bought on the same date. I'm still a newbie when it comes to the in's and out's of cell phones and how this works as these are our first cell phones ever. I do not wish to extend our contract two years to get a replacement phone from AT&T.

Thanks for any suggestions,
Ron


Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: M>B>
Date: March 25, 2012 03:17AM
Well thats kind of carapy, dry all moisture out if it and seal it in a zip loc bag with a pound of rice in it and hope for the best! Wait a day or two and see what happens.

Good luck.

Edit: The rice should be un-cooked.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2012 03:21AM by M>B>.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: GGD
Date: March 25, 2012 03:21AM
This link seems to say that Apple may replace it for $149.

[support.apple.com]

Quote

#
Out-of-Warranty Service

If you own an iPhone that is ineligible for warranty service but is eligible for Out-of-Warranty (OOW) Service, Apple will service your iPhone for the Out-of-Warranty Service fee listed below.
iPhone model Out-of-Warranty Service
iPhone 4S $199
iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 3G, Original iPhone $149

A $6.95 shipping fee will be added if you arrange service online or by calling Apple Technical Support. All fees are in U.S. dollars and are subject to local tax.

When setting up out-of-warranty service, Apple will request credit card pre-authorization for the maximum service fee listed above. This amount will be deducted from your credit limit. The final service fee we charge will be determined during testing and may be less than the service fee listed above.

Certain damage is ineligible for out-of-warranty service, including catastrophic damage, such as the device separating into multiple pieces, and inoperability caused by unauthorized modifications. However, an iPhone that has failed due to contact with liquid may be eligible for out-of-warranty service.

Apple reserves the right to determine whether or not your iPhone is eligible for Out-of-Warranty service. iPhones that are repaired or replaced have a 90-day limited hardware warranty or assume the remainder of your standard warranty or AppleCare service contract coverage, whichever is longer. Please see Apple's Repair Terms And Conditions for further details.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: silvarios
Date: March 25, 2012 03:27AM
Make a Genius apointment. I've read replacment phones can be had for something like $200. Just let Apple know what happened.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: Speedy
Date: March 25, 2012 03:27AM
M>B>, that is what is happening now. We have it sitting in front of a fan which will blow on it for a couple days. We have forced air heat and air conditioning but this time of year (at least this year) we aren't using either.

GGD, really !!great!! link if drying doesn't work (and I don't expect it to.)


Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: silvarios
Date: March 25, 2012 03:30AM
GGD beat me to it. I was wrong. I read 4S, but the OP clearly stated 4. Either way, $149 or $199 is a bargain.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: M>B>
Date: March 25, 2012 03:42AM
M>B>, that is what is happening now. We have it sitting in front of a fan which will blow on it for a couple days. We have forced air heat and air conditioning but this time of year (at least this year) we aren't using either.

Fan and heat won't work, you need do seal in a descent to extract the moisture. Silica jell would be best but rice works!
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: Lux Interior
Date: March 25, 2012 04:39AM
Quote
M>B>
Edit: The rice should be un-cooked.

lol!

"Defrost the chickens first."
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: space-time
Date: March 25, 2012 07:05AM
you can cook the rice afterwards barf smiley
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: Spiff
Date: March 25, 2012 10:08AM
Actually, I brought an iPhone 3 back from a dunking by heating up a toaster oven to 200 degrees, place a towel on the top of it and put the iPhone on it for 10 min ( the sides of the toaster were insulated, but the top was not). Take off, let cool. Repeat several times. Let dry for at least 24 hours. It worked!
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: graylocks
Date: March 25, 2012 10:09AM
aargh! the toliet drop! the accident waiting to happen i live in fear of. hope it all works out.


"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: flightdelayedagain
Date: March 25, 2012 10:31AM
Not an iPhone but my wife dropped her Samsung Impression in the toilet so I took out the battery and SIM card, placed in a bag of rice overnight - still wouldn't work plus there was fog on the glass so I let it sit in the rice near our coal stove and then used a hair dryer. After the fog in the glass cleared, I booted it up and it's been working fine now for about a month.

Good luck
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: OWC Jamie
Date: March 25, 2012 10:35AM
You've not exhausted all of the possibilities yet. It may still work, just need some replacement parts.

Start by removing the battery.You'll need a toolkit

[eshop.macsales.com]

And a replacement battery to verify it's truly dead

[eshop.macsales.com]

THEN see if it charges and works. smiling smiley After all the drying out it very well may. All depends on how much water really got into it.


Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing
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HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!
Posted by: RAMd®d
Date: March 25, 2012 12:29PM
I don't get it.

Dropping a phone in the toilet, even if it's not a 'Phone, is just wrong. Yet it's apparently one of the largest causes of a phone's demise.

I know people who went swimming with a phone in their pocket, people who've left phones in their laundry, but dropping it in the toilet?!

I am nowhere near the toilet when I'm on the 'Phone. Go in, TCB, get out. No calls, no games, no 'Phone, 'Pod, or 'Pad.

No 'Phone near the sink when I do dishes.



When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men
except by believing all possible evil
of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

Mister, that's a ten-gallon hat on a twenty-gallon head.

I *love* Sigs. It's Glocks I hate.
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That said...
Posted by: RAMd®d
Date: March 25, 2012 12:34PM
Heating a phone in the oven can work, but you've GOT to be careful and watch the heat.

Heating dry rice and then immersing your phone in it, in a sealed plastic bag, also works, at least to dry it out. The phone working... maybe, maybe not.

Go to the Genius Bar and tell the story, straight up. Or have your daughter do it. Sometimes they take pity on your plight and give you a great deal.

If not, then you might consider surgery and a battery transplant.



When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men
except by believing all possible evil
of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

Mister, that's a ten-gallon hat on a twenty-gallon head.

I *love* Sigs. It's Glocks I hate.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: pipiens
Date: March 25, 2012 12:38PM
Mine went through the washing machine. I used a silica gel reusable canister to dry it out. It worked but not reliably after a couple of days drying.

I took it to the local Apple store and asked the genius to fix it. I told him not to bother checking it out since it had both a wash a rinse and a spin dry. He checked it anyway saw all the moisture detectors were wet and replaced it under my applecare for no charge. YMMV.

[www.amazon.com]
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Re: HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!
Posted by: graylocks
Date: March 25, 2012 12:44PM
Quote
RAMd®d

I am nowhere near the toilet when I'm on the 'Phone. Go in, TCB, get out. No calls, no games, no 'Phone, 'Pod, or 'Pad.
.

i used to read my mail to pass the time on the throne. now i check my email, stock quotes, news headlines, this forum or play a game. all the while being very, very careful as to where the iPhone is held in relation to the bowl o' death.

i listen to podcasts while doing dishes. the iPhone is usually in my back pocket.


"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama
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Re: HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!
Posted by: Lux Interior
Date: March 25, 2012 02:42PM
If you keep it in your shirt pocket, it can fall out when you lean over to lift the seat.

Almost happened to me.
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Re: HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!
Posted by: GGD
Date: March 25, 2012 02:49PM
Quote
Lux Interior
If you keep it in your shirt pocket, it can fall out when you lean over to lift the seat.

Almost happened to me.

With proper lifting techniques, that shouldn't be an issue.

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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: SteveO
Date: March 25, 2012 03:11PM
Unfathomable as it is to some, I can easily see a mobile phone dropping into the loo. It doesn't mean someone was using it in there. It could just be resting in a back or side pocket. One pulls up one's britches, the phone is put under pressure and ker-PLOP...there it goes. An unfortunate accident. Probably more prone to happen to those who have slick cases or no cases at all.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: Speedy
Date: March 26, 2012 01:30AM
Thanks for all the feedback!!! It is sitting on an older MacBook Pro's keyboard while the MBP is engaged in Folding. I'll give it a few days before I do anything.


Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: C(-)ris
Date: March 26, 2012 11:47AM
Quote
Speedy
Thanks for all the feedback!!! It is sitting on an older MacBook Pro's keyboard while the MBP is engaged in Folding. I'll give it a few days before I do anything.

You put something that is wet on top of the keyboard of a MBP? banghead smiley


C(-)ris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Re: iPhone 4 dropped in toilet. Best way to get another
Posted by: Speedy
Date: March 28, 2012 03:17AM
It isn't dripping anymore. In fact, much to my amazement it is working again, at least for now. We're going to see how it does. Thanks to all who replied.


Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.
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